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357 Mags in Nam

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BreakerDan

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I have seen several references to GIs using privately owned Magnums in combat in Vietnam.
Guess that they would have really nocked out the soft body armor the VC wore.

How prevalent was this and how did they get ammunition? I know one guy said he used the powder from 45 ball ammo and rolled his own.
 
I have seen several references to GIs using privately owned Magnums in combat in Vietnam.
Guess that they would have really nocked out the soft body armor the VC wore.

How prevalent was this and how did they get ammunition? I know one guy said he used the powder from 45 ball ammo and rolled his own.
 
I knew a couple guys in US Navy helicopter sear and rescue (SAR) that packed privately owned Magnums: an M19 and an M28, both in 4" and in armpit holsters. Ammo was no problem, as it was readily available at the PX. Navy regulations required carrying only .38 Special ball-tracer cartridges, but these wiseguys always packed Winchester-Western or Super Vel hollow points. The Navy designated the sidearms function as primarily emergency signaling, with personal protection as a last-ditch effort. Ball M41 was also available, but seldom issued to aircrew.
 
I don't know how prevalent they were, but Col Bull Simons wore a 4" Python in a shoulder rig on the Son Tay Raid.
Bull.jpg


Regards,
 
I was in country 69 to 70. I worked the DMZ with Golf 2/3. After the pull out, I went south to India 3/5 at An Hoa ...LIberty Bridge .. and the phu nons.

I ended up with a CAP unit off of hill 65, and we carried some off the wall stuff. I saw 1 guy who bought a .38 snub off of a CID Sgt. who came out to talk to us. That was the only Smith I saw in the field.

I saw several guys when I would get into the rear that had revolvers that looked to me like they were .38s but that about all I could tell.

I've heard of and seen a photo ( here ) of Smiths that were used by rats, but I never saw any of those either. I'm sure they were there, but like everything else in any war zone it depends on where you were I guess.
 
In the year I was there I knew of one carried by a Marine aviator never used.
 
My FIL served two tours of duty. He told me on his 2nd tour he carried a 6" S&W 28 Highway Patrolman. When he was to go back home he handed it off to another guy in his unit.

I'll talk with him this weekend to find out more specifics.
 
I was their very early...........1963..64. All I saw were model 10's. Seamed like every one had one. Illegal to have but no one said anything. Oh yea......I was a Saigon Commando.
 
In, "Flight of the Intruder", author Stephen Coonts, a former Naval aviator (A-6 pilot) armed his main character with a Combat Magnum. Jake Grafton had that gun in several books. The other guy who was shot down with him had a .45 auto.

I think this reflected what the writer saw on his carrier, and used himself. You can probably ask him, via his site.

While in the USAF, I saw several Naval aviators in our dining hall, as they flew through our base. They had what looked to be Victory models or M-10's. All had shoulder holsters.

I know that some units had S&W 9 mm autos, the M-39.

Officers could often buy what they wanted, as could some Special Forces types. I'd be amazed if some didn't wear .357's. An officer in my unit owned a K-38, which he wore on patrol in lieu of the issued Combat Masterpiece. He thought he shot the longer barrelled gun better.
 
Originally posted by ArchAngelCD:
The .357 Magnum didn't go away after the Vietnam war. The S&W Stainless .357 Magnum is still part of the standard weapons supplied to the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams.
Click to expand...

I believe they have used both M-66 and M-686 examples. Does anyone know for sure?
 
In 1966 one could take personally owned weapons to Viet Nam. I did.In 1968 privately owned weapons were prohibited. Some helicopter pilots bought 357s in the '65-'66 time frame and carried them in Viet Nam. I suspect many 357s remained there when pilots rotated.
 
I served in the 4th ID in 1969 and we operated in the bush most of my tour. The Captain had a 45 Government and I think the was the only handgun in the whole company.
 
One of the loach pilots in my unit carried a Colt Trooper that his father sent him. Parents, especially those who were combat vets, routinely ignored regulations and mailed guns, ammo, booze, etc. to their kids. This highly decorated pilot was eventually shot through both legs. I understand that, thanks to his buddies, the Colt got shipped inside his cast along with him when he went stateside.
 
I recall seeing a photo in American Rifleman years ago of an SF-type with a 4" Model 66 (?) on his belt.
 
Well, not in Viet Nam but there is an interesting picture in the new Ruger Pistols & Revolver book by John C. Dougan. It's a couple of Marines in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic dated 5/13/65. They are seeking out a sniper, and one has a Ruger 6 1/2" .357 Blackhawk in his hand. You can't see what type of holster he was using unfortunately.
 
In Frank Barnes' Cartridges of The World, reference is made to the .357 being quite effective against the body armour worn by Chinese Communists in the Korean Conflict, perhaps identical to that worn as hand-me-down's to Viets?...might be worth a starting point.

Hell, if it did well then, perhaps improvements in ballistics and projectiles can only lead one to assume a fairly decent performance in later conflicts?
 
I carried a S&W Model 19 from 63-66 with MACV. We were working with "Company" types and could get any kind of ammo we wanted. I wasn't issued a pistol (carried a scoped Winchester Model 70)so there was no restriction or issue of handgun type. It had a 4" barrel and I carried it in the standard issue shoulder holster for the 1911. I bought the pistol in the Exchange in Saigon.I never fired it(or even drew it!) in combat and brought it back to States with me when I rotated. Regretfully I sold it years later.
 
A buddy of mine was SF in VN. He had a model 19 that he let his counterpart use while he was in country. The story is that the ARVN kept flipping the cylinder open and closed with one hand and by the time my buddy was ready to DEROS the crane was sprung so badly that the cylinder couldn't be closed.
 
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